Page 107
Story: The Night Firm
"I don't want to lie to you," I begin. "But I can't tell you the whole truth either. Not yet." I sigh, twisting the edge of my shirt in my hands. "There's a choice I have to make. Only…I don't know how to make it. I don't know what the right course of action is. People always talk about things like it's so easy to know what to do, that the hard part is doing it." I look up at his forest green eyes. "I think it's the opposite. It's easy doing the right thing. The hard part is knowing what the right thing is. That's what's paralyzing."
He nods in understanding and squeezes my shoulders. "Sometimes there is no right choice, only the choice you will regret the least." He pauses, looking out the window of the carriage. "Take your time," he says, returning his emerald gaze to me. "I'll be here to talk whenever you're ready."
A flood of emotion crashes through me and I lift my hand to his face, cupping his strong square jawline. "Thank you, Sebastian," I say. "I know you'll always be by my side. I know you'll protect me."
He frowns, placing his hand over mine. "I haven't always protected those I love."
The word love strikes me, and in a moment of abandon I erase the little distance that remains between us and press my lips to his.
He is the first Night brother I met. The first I felt this strange and unyielding attraction to. The first I craved, and yet we have danced around each other, never quite meeting in the same place. Until now.
Sebastian moans against my lips, his body tensing, and then he pulls me into his lap and I sigh at the closeness, at the pleasure that cascades through me as our kiss deepens and his tongue explores mine, his teeth tugging at my lips, his fingers pressing into my back, digging into my flesh, his body pulsing with the need I also feel.
When the carriage stops, I sit back, surprised by the intensity of our connection. His eyes are dilated, and his body is needy with desire. I ease off his lap, shaking from the euphoria of finally feeling him so close, and yet craving more. Craving it all.
He kisses me once more and glides his hand through my long hair. "You are more than I ever could have hoped for," he says.
Then Sebastian exits the carriage and I follow him, tugging at my clothes to right them.
We’ve arrived at a pool of sapphire water hidden in a cove. Several waterfalls pour into it from steep cliffs above, and as I step out of the carriage, my feet squish into bright emerald moss that lines the shore. Near one of the waterfalls, a mermaid rests languidly on a partially submerged boulder, her pink and purple fins glistening in the light of the Dragon's Breath.
Derek hails her from the shore. "Greetings, Mira. We are here to examine the nesting site of the egg. We have the necessary documents, of course." Derek pulls out a parchment to show her.
"You are expected," Mira says over the waters without looking at the paper. "You may enter. Do you need accommodations for entry? Or would you prefer to do it yourself? We have heard your abilities have returned, Water Druid."
"Word spreads fast around here," I mutter, and Sebastian just grunts in dry amusement.
"I will make my own path," Derek says and then raises his arms. As he does, the water before us parts, creating a dry swath of land to the center waterfall.
Sebastian and I follow Derek. I marvel at the walls of water that have formed on both sides of us. Fish and other larger creatures I can't see clearly still swim within them. I take a cautious step closer to Derek, not wanting to be left behind to face whatever is submerged beneath these waters.
When we reach the waterfall, Sebastian takes my hand. "Don't worry. You won't drown."
"I wasn't worried until you said that," I say with a snort.
Derek enters the waterfall first and it parts for him. Sebastian and I step through next, then drop into a dark stone hole slick with water and slime.
We slide down the hole like the world's most terrifying water slide, and Sebastian catches me in his arms when we land in a bubble of air made by Derek. Around us looms an underground city full of wonders that my mind can scarcely comprehend. An underground castle made of sparking stone and coral stands tall, a plethora of plant life in bright colors dotting the landscape around it. Merpeople form an impromptu line to either side of us as we float to the entrance of the castle. Some are swimming, some are riding what look like giant sea horses. Derek uses his magic to guide us within the walls of the fortress, where we no longer need the air bubble. I hear a slight pop as it dissipates around us and the thick humid scent of moss fills my nostrils. We land gently on our feet and walk to a grand door guarded by an Enforcer dressed in the customary black.
"We're here to examine the nest." Derek once again holds up the signed parchment. "We've already requested permission."
The Enforcer—who appears mostly human despite his fury tail and ears—takes the paper and examines it, turns it over a few times as if some magical words might appear—which, given where we are, might be legit—then nods. He's a beast of few words as he escorts us through the door and down a long hall lined with more Enforcers heavily armed and on alert. We get to large stone doors that require massive strength or magic to open. The Enforcer pulls out a clear crystal and sticks it into the center, and the doors part, stone grinding against stone, shaking the floor beneath us.
"It would take someone highly skilled and connected to infiltrate a place like this," Sebastian says.
I look at the Enforcer, who stands by the door as guard with the other two already there. "How many people have stones that can open this room?" I ask.
He looks down at me with an unreadable expression. "Only the Elite and the Dragon Queen herself. Five in total."
"We should look into who had access," I whisper to Sebastian, "and see if any of those crystals went missing."
He nods as we walk into the nest, and I stop and sweep my gaze over the incredible display of wealth before us. We are in a cave full of blue crystals that shimmer with their own internal light, casting fractal reflections off the gems and gold piled high everywhere. I shake my head, wondering why this level of wealth would be hoarded rather than used to enrich the lives of those in the Otherworld.
Not everyone here lives in mansions and castles. While on our drives through the countryside, I've seen those who live in squalor and poverty. Those who have lost all they have to fires or feuds with other supernatural clans. The wealth on display before me could help so many.
But that's not why I'm here, I remind myself, refocusing my attention on any clues we might discover. I walk to the nearest wall and hold out my hand to see if I can sense anything with my powers. Since I have no real idea what I can do, I'm mostly winging it, but I do feel the thrum of the magic that lives in this whole place. Across parts of the stone wall are black marks that look like deep scars in the rock.
At the end of the cave, much to my surprise, a pair of burning Ifrit are leaning over something on the ground. Flames rise from their reddened skin as from wood in a fire pit, casting everything around them in an orange glow. Looking at them, you'd think they'd smell of burning flesh—which isn't a great scent. But it's more a smoky smell, like the remnants of a campfire.
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